The council voted to extend drinking hours of bars along Newark Avenue creating a restaurant row. Essentially the ordiance allows restaurants to serve alcohol beyond the 11pm curfew previously enforced, to 2 a.m. on weeknights and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. The intent is that new restaurants will open along Newark Avenue, further revitalizing the area. Alcohol after all, is critical in a restaurant’s profitability. Meanwhile, some local residents were against the move, fearing noise and traffic, insisting that Dollar Stores and homeless people were critical to preserving the neighborhood’s character.